Christmas Eve we went to breakfast with my Nana at Cracker Barrel and let her open all her gifts. We ate way too many biscuits and gravy. It was nice to spend a little time with her because it’s been so long. I met my friend Tyler in the afternoon to give him some portraits he had commissioned for Christmas gifts. It was so much fun to hear about his fabulous life in NYC. We went to a cute little coffee house called Buona Cafe. I picked up some roasted whole beans as part of Alex’s gifts while I was there. After a big spaghetti dinner I was feeling so sick again that I just went to bed. It was my first Christmas not going to church which is kinda sad but I just couldn’t make it! Maybe next year.

Christmas Day we spent the morning with my parents. I made a tater tot casserole with country gravy made from scratch with sausage, cheese and eggs. It was so great. I will definitely be cooking it again sometime. My mom made us these incredible stockings for Christmas. I can’t wait to use them year after year. We usually get a movie and CD each year and this year I got Frozen! I’ve never seen it but I love animated movies so I’m looking forward to watching it at some point over the next few days. Alex and I got a few more things for our apartment that will be useful. Corey got me the Naked on the Run palettes which I’m sure will become part of my daily makeup routine and cut down on packing when we travel. I absolutely love how good my husband is at picking out gifts. He is always so thoughtful and can pick things he knows I will love! He got my a right hand ring of a sailor’s knot that is so precious to me! I got him a coffee grinder and French press. Our house has been smelling so lovely in the mornings now!

Christmas afternoon and evening we spent with Alex’s family. We wanted to be sure to see our nephew before he left for the day. His parents also got us a few more things off our registry which is great. His mom gave me a beautiful aquamarine necklace and ring she got from some travels to Sri Lanka a long time ago. It was so sweet! I love that she passed something along to me. For dinner we had a traditional meal of beef roast, potatoes and parsnips, gravy, and Yorkshire pudding. We also opened poppers but this year they didn’t have crowns so we didn’t look as silly and festive at dinner.

It was good to spend some time with our families for Christmas. I’m so glad we didn’t do it on our own this year. It’s nice to do things as newlyweds but the holidays are about family and I really couldn’t picture our Christmas any other way.